Syria's communities and civilizations – history, sites and heritage
Chechens
Self-designation: Нохчий Noxçiy
الشيشان
Ethnic and linguistic communities
A small Chechen community descends from 19th-century migrants from the North Caucasus, historically associated with Ras al-Ayn and the Jazira. It should not be confused with foreign Chechen fighters who came to Syria after 2011.
Chechens came to Ottoman Syria as part of the wider migration of North Caucasian Muslims after the Caucasian War; a photograph of Chechens at Ras al-Ayn dates from 1899. Communities are reported in Ras al-Ayn, Qamishli, al-Malikiyah, Hasakah, Kobani, Afrin, Manbij and Damascus; those on the Golan fled in 1967.
Sources and details
Most speak Arabic, and Chechen survives to a limited extent; the Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics is reported to list Chechen among the languages spoken in Syria. The community is Sunni Muslim.
No reliable population figure was found. After 2011 several thousand foreign fighters from Chechnya and the North Caucasus came to Syria, some forming their own armed groups; they are distinct from the long-settled Syrian Chechen community. This entry rests mainly on a secondary source and should be treated as provisional.
Sites connected with this community 1
- Ras al-AynHasakah · Historic architecture
Town historically associated with Chechen settlers in the late Ottoman period.
These categories describe history, language and faith – not exclusive identities. Many Syrians belong to several, and some names refer to civilizations of the past.